Friday, August 31, 2012

Okay folks, enough of the chair jokes. I will not lower myself into the cheap shot gutter with the rest of you folks on the Internet by making fun of Clint and his buddy, the chair. (At least the leader of the party liked Clint.)

There is no doubt, that thanks to Clint and the republicans, the chair is now the most famous piece of furniture in America. (Mitt, if you plan to run the country like you did your convention; I think we might be in some serious trouble.)
The chair was supposed to represent Obama, but I think that if Obama let the chair debate for him against Mitt, the chair will win. Actually, I would vote for the chair over Mitt. At least the chair has a stronger back bone than Mitt. And, unlike Mitt, we know that the chair will always stay the same.

But again, enough about the damn chair. The convention last night wasn't about the chair; it was about Mitt.

Having said that, I would like to make a public service announcement to Mitt Romney and his friends in the republican party: Ladies and gentlemen, the COLD WAR is over, and it has been over for some time now.

Mitt pretty much tried to bring it back in his speech last night by threatening Putin and the rest of the Russians. Honestly Mitt, I think that the Russians are too busy making money to care what some guy from Utah with the B9 like movements have to say about their standing in the world. Mitt also let it be known that when he is president he will show The Supreme Leader and the rest of those Iranians who is boss. Good luck with that. I think that Mitt will find that if (and that's a big if) he finds himself occupying the most powerful position on earth; he will see that things are a little different when the realities of the world starts closing in on him. Those daily national security briefs will give him a quick reality check.

But it's not only the cold war blunder; the repeating of the republican lies about Obama apologizing for America on foreign soil, (He did not) and the one about Obama raising taxes on the middle class (He did not) was a bit much, even for a republican giving a political speech.

Then, of course, there was this beauty:

"I have a plan to create 12 million jobs."

Here are the FACTS:

"This sounds ambitious - but it's not impossible. To do this in his first term,
as Romney promises, would require creating 250,000 jobs per month for four
years. In July, the economy added 163,000 jobs. There are not signs that that
number will shoot up by 100,000 jobs per month anytime soon, but the economy has
gone through periods of such job creation, most recently during the Clinton
administration. And as the Washington Post points
out, Moody's Analytics predicts
12 million jobs by 2016, no matter who sits in the Oval Office. Romney says
he'll get there through spending cuts and lower taxes."

I watched Mitt's speech last night, and now I regret it. Not because of how bad it was, but because it's an hour of my life that I will never get back.

Everything in it was perfunctory: the biographical section (which was weirdly interrupted by a digression into Neil Armstrong and the space race and by a call-out to every elected Republican woman they could scrape up — the whole thing seemed to have a case of attention deficit disorder); the five-point economic program; the foreign policy section; the stirring rhetoric at the end; and, certainly, the delivery.

No, that’s not an entirely bad thing. If there was a great moment in it, I sure didn’t hear it; several nice lines, but none that resonated. Perhaps the only memorable thing at all was a nice story about his parents’ romance, but it was surely no match for, say, the story of Chelsea Clinton falling off the bed when she unlearned gravity. Romney’s life story, as he told it, was appealing enough — striking off on his own rather than following in his father’s footsteps, a story that was a dead ringer for George Herbert Walker Bush’s life story except for the war heroism and the real adventurism in Bush’s move to Texas. But, again, that’s okay.

The theme of this convention wasn’t to sell the American people on Mitt Romney, much less his rarely-mentioned plans for public policy. No, even during the parade of testimonials to Romney that took up much of today’s proceedings, Romney himself was only occasionally the focus — the Olympic athletes did an excellent job of selling patriotism, but only sometimes appeared to remember that the point was to humanize Romney.

Both of those themes showed up in Romney’s speech tonight, and while he’s not capable of really making them soar — and, again, the structure of the thing failed to really bring it out very well anyway — they were probably good enough. Not that it means that Romney will necessarily win, but it does probably mean that he will get what he could coming out of the convention, moving a bit closer to achieving whatever the fundamentals of the contest would predict.

A generic speech and a generic convention for a generic Republican candidate."

Thursday, August 30, 2012

This might be a two post night, because Mitt will be giving what is being billed as the "speech of his life" tonight, and I might have a few things to say. (I will definitely be tweeting about it.)

Anyway, I want to talk about three women of color with this post. Two of them lean right politically, and I am not too sure about the other one.

Two of them gave speeches at the republican convention last night, the other one also made news, but not in the way she wanted to.

I will talk about Condi first, because I think she has the most stature of the three. Condi stood in front of a room full of republicans last night and declared to us all what a great country America was. She said it was great because as a child of Jim Crow era Alabama, she never expected to become Secretary of State one day.

The theme of her speech was that anyone can make it in America, and that America opens her arms to all who will come if they are willing to work hard and buy into American ideals. She said it all to rousing applause and standing ovations from the the very white,very conservative crowd.

The problem is, of course, that Condi's party has been actively -- and not so secretly--- planning to suppress the vote of poor people and people of color because they believe that if those people vote they will not get the result that they like. If this sounds a lot like the poll taxes from Condi's Jim Crow days it's because it is.

Shame on Ms. Rice for invoking the civil rights movement and their struggle for equal rights in this country in such a forum. Offering sound bites so that folks ----who could give a damn about her rights as a human being-- can feel good about themselves was as disgraceful as her signing on to a war that caused thousands of young Americans and Iraqis to lose their lives.

Condi, I know that you were friends with those four little girls from Birmingham. I am sad to say that Addie, Cynthia, Carole, and Denise are crying from their graves.

The other lady of color who was front and center last night was Mia Love. (Love the name) Ms. Love is a rising star in the GOP because she is allegedly the kind of Negro that they like: Hard working, educated, speaks well....

Anyway, she too gave a rousing speech and praised the party that gave her an opportunity to be running for congress from the very lily white state of Utah.

The theme of her speech seemed to be the "American dream".

Ms. Love, of course, isn't from Utah. Her parents are Haitian, and she migrated to Utah from Connecticut.

Ms. Love represents the typical immigrant who came to America looking for a better life with her family. Her American experience is not like the American experience of the Negro born in America. She came here looking for a better life, and like most immigrants she found it. You could argue that anything would be better than the Third World existence that most immigrants left behind.

Ms. Love, in her mind, isn't burdened by America's sad history when it comes the blacks who were brought here under quite different conditions. So sadly she doesn't even view herself as one of those American blacks. When her white friends in Utah tell her that she is "different than those other blacks", she actually believes it.

I can speak to this, because I too came to America from a different country. I was brought here by my family as well. The difference is that my parents didn't come to stay. They came for an education and went back home to the country that they loved. I was taught to understand that I am no different than the Negro in America, the only difference is that my ancestors came off the boats just a little bit sooner. Ms. Love is the type of Negro who looks down on the American born Negro, because she has failed to understand their history and where she fits into it.

“President Obama’s version of America is a divided one — pitting us against each other based on our income level, gender, and social status. His policies have failed! We are not better off than we were 4 years ago, and no rhetoric, bumper sticker, or campaign ad can change that.”“Mr. President I am here to tell you we are not buying what you are selling in 2012.”

More rousing applause. "We are not buying what you are selling". "We"??!!

Mia is talking about Obama "dividing" us. What she fails to realize is that she is doing some dividing of her own. The type of dividing that some people just love to see.

Finally, the third woman of color I would like to talk about is that camerawoman from CNN who had peanuts and slurs rained down on her from some of her friendly wingnut friends.

Carroll said no one took the names of the attendees who threw peanuts at her Tuesday on the convention floor and told her, "This is what we feed animals." She alerted fellow camera operators, producers and CNN security. The head of the delegation — she was not certain of the state — told her the perpetrators must have been alternates, not delegates.But Carroll, 34, said that as an Alabama native, she was not surprised. "This is Florida, and I'm from the Deep South," she said. "You come to places like this, you can count the black people on your hand. They see us doing things they don't think I should do."Carroll noted of the Republican convention, "There are not that many black women there."
Ms. Carroll, Ms. Love would tell you that it's all in your head, and if you just work hard and speak properly these types of things will never happen to you.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Everyone in new media is talking about how two republicans at their convention in Tampa threw nuts at a CNN camerawoman (yes woman, stay classy wingnuts) and called her an animal. This, of course, is not news. We have come to expect this type of behavior from the Neanderthals on the right.

But this post isn't even about the knuckle dragging bunch in Tampa and their frat boy like and ignorant behavior. This is about the main stream media,-- CNN in particular---and how they have bent over backwards to avoid real stories in order to make this election about two viable candidates for president.

The fact that a CNN camerawoman was harassed and CNN hardly reported it is a disgrace. But we have come to expect this. No wonder their ratings are tanking. We haven't heard, for instance, any questions about Mitt's church and their pre 1978 view of blacks. We haven't heard any questions about Paul Ryan co-sponsoring a very draconian bill towards women with Congressman Todd Akin, and let's not forget his bill which specifically calls for cuts in Medicare.

What we have seen and heard, was a disgraceful report from CNN's Gloria Borger. ( I am no Ron Paul fan, but good for him for walking out on her interview)

“In 1968, France was a dangerous place to be for a 21-year-old American but Mitt Romney was right in the middle of it.” — CNN

Come again?

That, my friends, is what some are calling the "most ridiculous statement" ever on television.

I will let Tommy Christopher tell it:

When a friend tweeted me about a line from CNN’s Romney Revealed documentary, I thought he must have misheard or paraphrased it, but as it turns out, Gloria Borger’s narration of the Mitt Romney profile really did contain the most ridiculous sentence I’ve ever heard on television, so ridiculous that I’m half-suspicious CNN is actually a cabal of master satirists who are making fun of the Republican presidential candidate.The portion of the documentary in question covers Mitt Romney’s stint as a door-to-door Mormon recruiter in 1968 France, a duty which helped him to avoid military service in Vietnam. Earlier in the doc, narrator and interviewer Gloria Borger glossed over the fact that Romney sought, and received, four deferments during the Vietnam War (and later lied about it), instead saying simply that he was “exempt as a student, and with a high draft number.”The doc also notes, as an example of Romney “becoming his own man,” that he protested in favor of the draft that he so skillfully avoided, before moving on to the time he spent in France, a time that Romney once described as “tough” because the French were “not happy to see Americans, because we were in Vietnam at the time.”Yes, you heard that right. Not only did Mitt Romney protest in favor of sending other people’s children to die in Vietnam, even as he avoided service himself, he then complained about how those dying Americans made it “tough” for him while he was in France avoiding service." [Source]
Folks, all I can say is that you get what you deserve in this country.You can thank your friendly neighborhood cable network and their corporate masters for that.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

I am trying to watch the GOP convention. Trying. Between John Boehner's "man walks into a bar" joke, and the whole "you didn't build that" theme, (I think we all know who built it, and we did it free of charge) I am starting to think that the strip bars in Tampa are going to be filling up a bit early tonight. *yawn*

I am just waiting for my friend from New Jersey to tear himself away from the buffet table and give his speech. It should be interesting. I am sure that as a pro choice politician from the Northeast corridor he won't be talking about things like abortion. And, given his party's position on that issue, that's probably a good thing. Governor Chris will be the guy to tear that Obama fellow a new one, and my wingnut friends are hoping and praying that he will deliver.

Rick Santorum is speaking now. He is talking about life and liberty and how we must kick the beige dude out of the people's house "for the sake of our children". Of course Rick is talking about the unborn again. Rick really cares a lot about the unborn, the kids who are here and living in poverty on the other hand; not so much.

Ann Romney is going to give a speech as well. She will be the one trying to "humanize" her husband. Good luck with that. I can't say anything bad about Mrs. Romney. The poor lady has had to overcome so much. (No, not living with a robot for all these years.) She deserves our praise. Even if she has to brag to us that she shops at Costcos. (Memo to Mrs. Romney, that is nothing to brag about. That ought to be reason enough not to vote for your husband. Now I know where he gets those f****d up looking jeans.)
Artur is talking now. I would like to listen to what he is saying but I just can't. Because honestly, I have heard that song before, and the dance he is doing to it still looks the same. I know Artur, you are still mad at Obama because he didn't talk to you at Harvard.

I still haven't heard any of the republican speakers send their prayers to the people of the Gulf Coast. Seven years after Katrina, those poor folks are looking at another b***h slap from the gal upstairs. Artur should have started his speech by saying let's keep those folks on the Gulf Coast in our thoughts and prayers, but he didn't. He just couldn't wait to get into his jig.

So while the republicans party in Tampa, their fellow Americans are looking at a potential disaster just hundreds of miles away. The imagery couldn't be more fitting.

Monday, August 27, 2012

"For the most part, I’ve tried to be restrained.Although conservatives accuse those of us on the left of thinking that all critiques of President Obama are rooted in racism, this has certainly never been my argument. Indeed, I’ve written two books highly critical of Obama’s positions on a number of issues (from a place well to his left), and am fully aware that decent, honest people can disagree with Barack Obama from the right, too, without their disagreements serving as proof of some latent, let alone blatant, bigotry or anti-black bias.That said, what I have also long maintained — and what seems increasingly evident as we move into the heart of the 2012 campaign — is that the style of opposition, its specific form, and its particular content are too often embedded in a narrative of white racial resentment, white racial anxiety, and a desire to “other” the president in ways that go well beyond the politically partisan. It is not that criticisms of Obama are quantitatively racist, per se, but rather that they are qualitatively so in too many instances; a distinction, yes, but one that does not alter the underlying reality.In other words, it is one thing to disagree, even mightily, with a president’s policies. It is quite another to suggest that that president is really a foreign imposter: over, and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. And to accept no proof, no matter how extensive, that he really is an American after all.*" [Read More]
Read more of the story with the link I provided. Wise goes on to give some excellent examples of racist republican dog whistles and what seems to be a Lee Atwater style campaign to reach out to the darker souls in their party. (Lots of those.)

Anyway this climate of hate is creating more and more stories like the following:

"LUDOWICI, Ga. (AP) — Four Army soldiers based in southeast Georgia killed a former comrade and his girlfriend to protect an anarchist militia group they formed that stockpiled assault weapons and plotted a range of anti-government attacks, prosecutors told a judge Monday.

Prosecutors in rural Long County, near the sprawling Army post Fort Stewart, said the militia group composed of active duty and former U.S. military members spent at least $87,000 buying guns and bomb components and was serious enough to kill two people — former soldier Michael Roark and his 17-year-old girlfriend, Tiffany York — by shooting them in the woods last December in order to keep its plans secret.

"This domestic terrorist organization did not simply plan and talk," prosecutor Isabel Pauley told a Superior Court judge. "Prior to the murders in this case, the group took action. Evidence shows the group possessed the knowledge, means and motive to carry out their plans."

One of the Fort Stewart soldiers charged in the case, Army Pfc. Michael Burnett, also gave testimony that backed up many of the assertions made by prosecutors. The 26-year-old soldier pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter, illegal gang activity and other charges. He made a deal to cooperate with prosecutors in their case against the three other soldiers....

In a videotaped interview with military investigators, Pauley said, Aguigui called himself "the nicest cold-blooded murderer you will ever meet." He used the Army to recruit militia members, who wore distinctive tattoos that resemble an anarchy symbol, she said. Prosecutors say they have no idea how many members belong to the group.

"All members of the group were on active-duty or were former members of the military," Pauley said. "He targeted soldiers who were in trouble or disillusioned."

The prosecutor said the militia group had big plans. It plotted to take over Fort Stewart by seizing its ammunition control point and talked of bombing the Forsyth Park fountain in nearby Savannah, she said. In Washington state, she added, the group plotted to bomb a dam and poison the state's apple crop. Ultimately, prosecutors said, the militia's goal was to overthrow the government and assassinate the president." [Source]

Maybe that Judge in Texas was on to something. The sad thing is, of course, that when the war actually starts, people like Mitt Romney and his monied puppet masters will be watching from the sidelines and counting their money, while the stiffs on the battle field will be figuratively (and literally) shooting at each other.*Pic from Addicting Info.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Negro republicans are upset with Mitt Romney for not
including them on his website. Apparently he has every other group but the Negro.
And here you all thought being in the house with Mitt would get you certain
privileges. You all must think your name is Artur Davis or something.

"Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign website includes a category for “Communities,” under which you’ll find nearly every kind of demographic group: “Catholics for Romney,” “Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders for Romney,” farmers and ranchers, lawyers, Jewish and Polish Americans, veterans and military families, young Americans, even Hispanics, under the banner “Juntos for Romney” — which may or may not be ironic given Romney’s stance on “self-deportation.” But one thing you won’t find on the site: African-Americans for Romney.And some black Republicans are not happy about it.It’s shameful,” said one prominent black, “west coast” Republican, who contacted theGrio about the admission, but preferred not to use their name. The source said they have been involved in Republican politics “throughout the modern era,” and said they couldn’t recall a single GOP campaign that didn’t include some formal attempt at black outreach, particularly online.When reached for comment, Tara Wall, senior communications and coalitions adviser to the Romney campaign told theGrio: ”We have a working advisory group, but it has not been formally announced yet. We have the site ready to go.” [Source]
"Shameful"? What's "shameful" is that some of you Negroes expect better. You must have forgotten that before 1978 Mitt probably didn't even see your black asses as equals.
Besides, why should Mitt reach out to you Negroes? The poor man is getting less than 0% of support from black folks in the polls. (ZERO! How do you even get zero percent when there are millions of eligible Negro voters in America?)Tara Wall and Artur Davis might be the only Negroes in America voting for Mitt. I bet Condi isn't voting for him, and she is supposed to speak at his convention.

"Still, another prominent member of the GOP told theGrio they don’t plan to attend next week’s RNC convention, as they had for nearly every presidential year since they’ve been active in politics, as a delegate. The number of black delegates at Republican conventions peaked in 2004, at 6.7 percent of the total delegates, only to plummet by 78.4 percent, from 167 delegates to 36 in 2008, when John McCain was nominated for president in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The 2008 convention represented a 40-year low in the number of black RNC delegates, who represented just 1.5 percent of all delegates attending the convention, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, which in 2008 released a report tracking the number of black delegates at both party conventions over the past 50 years.This year, some prominent black Republicans say the party will be lucky to match 2008′s numbers.According to the former delegate, who says he’s a conservative first, and a Republican second, friends still active in the party claim the party has gone beyond giving up on growing its share of the black vote.“Giving up is not the point,” the former delegate said his friends tell him. “They’ve thrown them overboard; don’t need ‘em, don’t want ‘em.”
Oh ohh, I think that the house just got smaller.

Finally, I hope that the case of Gabrielle Swainson is finally getting some publicity. I tweeted about it earlier and I had folks e-mailing me and asking me who she was.

You won't hear much about her case on Nancy Grace, FOX NEWS or CNN; so you might as well read about it here.

"The FBI has joined the search for a South Carolina cheerleader who vanished without a trace from her bedroom.Gabrielle Swainson, 15, disappeared between 3:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. last Saturday, during the time her mother was at work, police said.When mother Elvia Swainson returned home Saturday morning, Gabrielle's bed was empty."I grabbed my phone and started calling her number. The number rang a couple of times then it stopped," Swainson said.Several more attempts to reach her daughter went straight to voicemail, she said. Although there were no signs of foul play, investigators believe the teen's disappearance was not voluntary."Her purse was still there with her charger for her phone in it and all the ingredients of her purse like her wallet and her credit card, everything is still there," said Chandra Cleveland-Jennings, a private investigator hired by Swainson."

These type of stories never end well, but let's hope that this case is the exception to that rule.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

"America is going to surprise the world. We're going to stand out as a shining city on a hill in part because of our extraordinary economy!”
Mitt sure likes to talk about a "shining city on a hill". Are all those Negroes killing each other in Chicago a part of Mitt's city? How about all those angry unemployed and uneducated white men who blame all of their problems on non-white people, and who prefer to use bullets and not the ballot box to make their point?

I don't think that Mitt realizes that if he becomes president he will be president of everyone and everything in America; warts and all. That city he likes to talk about isn't shining in every neighborhood. I suspect that if he becomes president some neighborhoods will shine very bright, while other areas of his city won't be shining at all. That is, of course, how Mitt and his friends --like the Koch brothers-- really want it. In fact, just to make sure, Bill Koch has actually started building his own city.

Mitt doesn't realize that it takes more than an "extraordinary economy to make a great city stand out. Your city could have all the money in world, but if only a few people have it, and if the game is rigged so that only a few can get to it, then what's the point of that "extraordinary economy"? Kuwait, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and other Arab countries such as Oman have great economies, but when it comes to human and civil rights, not so much. The war on women in some of those countries is in full effect; republicans, in America, have just declared theirs. I am pretty sure that Mitt's vision of a "shining city" does not include women having the right to dictate what happens to their bodies. (I see you Mr. Akin)
One person who doesn't like Mitt Romney's city is Barack Obama.

"President Barack Obama said Mitt Romney has locked himself into "extreme positions" on economic and social issues and would surely impose them if elected, trying to discredit his Republican rival at the biggest political moment of his life. In an interview with The Associated Press, Obama said Romney lacks serious ideas, refuses to "own up" to the responsibilities of what it takes to be president, and deals in factually dishonest arguments that could soon haunt him in face-to-face debates." [Source]

You are right Mr. President, Mitt "has locked himself into extreme positions", but that's fine with Mitt, it's what makes his city shine to those who can stand to look at it.

Finally, as CEO of Rent A Negro Inc., I would like to announce that we will be out of Negroes to rent next week. Unfortunately most of my employees will be at the republican National Convention in Tampa, and they will be posing for various pictures and trying to be as conspicuous as possible in every screen shot.

I would like to thank my republican friends for making this a banner year for us, (an election year will do that) and, as a result, we are in the process of taking applications to bring more Negroes on board. Thank you republicans.

Friday, August 24, 2012

I see that Flipper is
making birther jokes these days. My man has been hanging around with "the Donald" way too
much. "No one asked to see my birth certificate."Of course, as is
always the case with Mitt, this latest claim isn’t exactly true. Reporters in Boston previously asked to see his birth certificate as well because they couldn't believe that he had such a f****d up name. Anyway Mitt, we don’t
care about your birth certificate, we know that- unlike your Daddy- you were actually born
here. It’s your tax returns we want to see.Mitt won’t
release them, and I have to wonder what he is hiding. I suppose that whatever it is would
make winning the November election that much harder.

And speaking of the
election, for the sake of our survival a lot of people are
hoping that Obama does not win the next election. According to a Judge in Texas(Where else?) if O
wins there will be a "civil war". (Where did he get that idea in his
head?) It looks like wingnuts believe the latest polls, because they are storing canned foods and ammunition as I write this post. Still, if they fired the first shot here in Philly, we wouldn't even notice. We are kind of used to that kind of sound around here.

A civil war seems to be a logical conclusion to all that has been going on. People are just so angry these days. Maybe it will be best if Obama does lose. If having the beige dude in the White House will continue to cause so much angst, you people might as well just take it.

Just today some guy shot up Midtown, *Manhatten because some dude he worked with pissed him off over a year ago. The scary thing is that this dude seemed normal to most people. One neighbor, as is always the case when we have these shootings; described him as a "nice normal guy." Yeah right! I guess the good judge in Texas is hoping that a lot of other "nice normal" people will arm themselves with their legally purchased guns and go out and lower Obama's pool of voters by any means necessary. Will only republican Negroes like Thomas Sowell, and Herman Cain be spared? And how will some hillbilly straight out of "Deliverance" be able to tell the difference between a s**t talking lawyer on a blog from one of their own Negroes? Maybe when the "civil war" starts they will give them -good house Negroes- uniforms.Finally, I see that the ME in Jonesboro, Arkansas has declared the death of Chavis Carter a suicide. If this doesn't give you Negroes in America a reason to pause and take a look at your surroundings I don't know what will.

This man was arrested, searched, and handcuffed with his hands behind his back; and yet he allegedly shot himself in the back of that patrol car. Okaaaay.

That joke of a medical report was bad, but then the authorities in Jonesboro, Arkansas took it a step further and spat on the grave of the young man by releasing the following:"In addition to determining that Carter's death was a suicide, the medical examiner -- in a report released Monday -- also disclosed toxicology findings which showed that the dead suspect tested positive for methamphetamine and other drugs." [Source]

Well there you have it; he was on drugs, so it was alright to take his life and try to convince sane people in America that he killed himself. At least we know which side those police officers in Jonesboro, Arkansas will be on when the "civil war" starts.

It is politics as usual in here America. I see that Mitt has outlined his energy plan for these divided states of America, (more fracking, good luck with that) and the republican party platform is...well, exactly what we would expect with republicans: Taliban like in its ignorance. (American women are getting a beat down in this war.)
Issac is still trying to make up his mind if he will slam Tampa next week, and I think that it is the sweetest of all ironies that the storm has a biblical name. Pray people, pray!

Anyway, enough of politics, I want to rain on your parade just a little bit while you continue to wave at the floats going down Main Street while you pursue your happiness.

Here in Philly we had another shooting last night; this one was so brazen and horrific that the police literally ran out of markers to mark the shell casings on the ground. A driver of a car was ambushed by a group of men who opened up on him. Dude was shot eight times and might actually survive. (They build em tough here in Philly.) But here is the thing, we have shootings-and killings- every day, so there was nothing unusual about some dude getting his wig split on a city street. What upset me about this story is the fact that these little urban terrorist were shooting their intended target in the middle of a residential neighborhood while decent law abiding citizens tried to relax in the comfort of their homes. Eight O Clock??!! You little Negroes done lost your minds! [Story]

I am going to repeat something I have been saying on this blog for years: some of you out here having these damn kids need to be put in jail right next to the little thug you spawned. (This is for you sperm donors as well.)
If your situation in life is such that you can't take care of your damn self, well then when you get your freak on with the neighborhood Lothario, please try your damn best not to bring someone else into the world to share in your misery. That kind of crap is only going to bring problems for the rest of us down the road.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

"Rare is the time that a poll number makes me gasp. But there is one in the latest NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll that elicited one. While it was no surprise to see that President Obama snared 94 percent of African Americans surveyed, the presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney got nuthin’, zilch, niente, a big fat 0 percent. " [Source]
Yes Jonathan, but this could all change. Turns out that Mr. Ryan was honey dipping back in the day. That is, of course, until he met his future wife. (“Your mother left you with how much??!!”) I kid.

Anyway, some folks believe that this could actually help Mr. Ryan with the black vote and that it could change those low numbers with us folks for the Romney ticket. Personally, I am not too sure about that. (Do you really think that those boys on the Duke Lacrosse team loved black people? Just sayin.)

But we won’t get into our history with this subject which is rife with all types of issues. We have evolved as a nation, and,(with all due respect to the folks who can’t get over the slow speed Bronco chase) thankfully, getting a little “Jungle Fever” has become the norm. Well, with most people. (Sorry "Kossacks", I have to talk about it.)

I suspect that they would deny it, but I am willing to be that there are more than a few people under that republican tent who would not be willing to vote for the republican version of Robert DeNiro. Heck, they are just getting used to the fact that Romney is a part of that Joseph Smith religion.

I think when Paul Ryan says some of my best friends are black it might have a deeper meaning that when his boss at the top of the ticket says it. I mean I don’t think Flipper has ever even dated a brunette. And, to be fair to Mr. Ryan, I don't think he has ever gone there.

"For years Lou Dobbs was the face of the anti-illegal-immigration crusade. As a result of his seeming obsession with the issue, he became in the eyes of many the face of xenophobia and racism, not to mention public enemy No. 1 of Mexican immigrants. There's just one hitch to this narrative: Dobbs is married to a Mexican-American woman, meaning that he is the father of Mexican-American children. (His Mexican-born mother-in-law even lives with his family.)When I discovered this I was surprised, and not for the reasons you may think. While I was somewhat surprised to learn of his wife's heritage, given his own politics on issues that overwhelmingly affect a community of which she is a member, I was even more surprised that I'd never heard him mention it on his program or prominently in interviews. He certainly didn't hide it, but my point is, if anyone could have benefited from a "But my best friend -- in fact, my wife -- is Latina, so I can't be bigot" defense, it was Dobbs, and yet he chose not to hide behind that."
Actually Keli, he didn't have to say it, others said it for him, but I get your point.

Still, at the end of the day, it’s not what he (Ryan) does in his personal life; it’s how his policies in his public one that shape the various issues I care about that concerns me. If his black girlfriend causes him to be more sensitive to certain issues when he is crafting legislation, well then that's a good thing. I don't care what's in his heart if the laws he helps to pass are good ones. George Bush seemed like a really nice guy, and he probably had a good heart; look where that got us.

Politically, this will put Ryan in a good light with independents. He might have some issues,however,with his Southern base. When 46% of registered republicans in Mississippi say that interracial marriage should be illegal you have to wonder. This is why the conservative bloggers jumping on Goff are being disingenuous when they act as if Ryan getting his swirl on might not be a problem. The truth of the matter is it could be. Keli focused on Ryan himself, I think this is more about his base and how they will react.

The only thing holding this fickle coalition of Mormon worshipers, Negro daters, and Southern Christians together is their intense hatred of Barack Hussein Obama.

That's the type of hatred that even a little "Jungle Fever" can't stop.

This will be a short post, because I just got back on the plantation from a trip down to DC, and I have to be up in about three hours. (It's hard out here for a Field Negro.)

Anyway, I want to thank some wonderful and distinguished journalists who invited me down to DC to break bread with them and swap stories. Bloggers like yours truly owe it to folks like Richard Prince, Lynne Adrine, Jeanine Hunter, Ronald Taylor, and others. Sitting among those individuals was an honor.

It was also nice meeting journalists like Marisol Bello of USA Today, and Ron Nixon of the New York Times, who are keeping the legacy going and trying to hold it down in Mr. Charley's newsroom. That is serious FNB.

Oh well, time to hit the sack, although, before I go, I want to say congratulations to the republican party for their 2012 party platform. Some of the language adopted couldn't have been easy given what's been going on lately with a certain gentleman from Missouri.

Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Republican drafters of their party’s 2012 platformreaffirmed support for a constitutional amendment banning abortion that would allow no exception for terminating pregnancies caused by rape. Concluding two days of deliberations in Tampa yesterday, the platform committee completed a 60-page draft of political positions and principles that will be submitted for adoption when the Republican National Convention begins Aug. 27 in the Florida city.

Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell, the panel’s chairman, and other leaders sought to emphasize the document’s focus on proposals to promote economic growth as the party dealt with a political storm stirred by a comment about rape by the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Missouri.

The draft “reflects the views of the grassroots leaders” of the party and “affirms our belief in traditional values, but spends an enormous amount of time and energy on how to get the greatest country on Earth out of debt and back to work,” McDonnell told reporters after the Committee on Resolutions completed the platform draft." [Source]

Yes, let's save all of those babies. Just don't forget about them when they become a "nuisance" to society.

Monday, August 20, 2012

This is why I could never be a [right] wingnut. To me a religious experience would have been sitting front row at a Dennis Brown concert, (may he rest in peace) while sipping on some Stone's Ginger Wine, or making love to Tika Sumpter. Not the [right] wingnut; their idea of a religious experience is something totally different.

"..Shortly after the contentious debt ceiling debate last year, nearly one in five
congressmen took off for week-long informational trips during their summer
recess, most of which were paid for by a pro-Israel lobbying group. The relief
from escaping the toxic air of Washington, D.C., last summer may have been
overwhelming for some of the lawmakers.

Politico
reported that a late-night dip in the Sea of Galilee near the Israeli city
of Tiberias by several GOP freshmen lawmakers and top leadership staff during
that trip led to an FBI probe after reports of drinking and even a bit of nudity
surfaced. Federal officials told CBS News that there is an FBI investigation
into public corruption, but the skinny-dipping incident cited in the report is
ancillary to the larger probe. Those officials also said that Rep. Kevin Yoder,
R-Kan., - who was named in the Politico report - is not the subject of the
federal investigation. Yoder took off his clothes for the swim, Politico reports, and some of the
other lawmakers partially disrobed, even though families - including one
congressman's daughter - were also apparently swimming at the same time. Sources
told Politico more than 20 people in total took part in the late-night swim."

Oh my! Why did it take a year for this story to come out? Man the main stream media sure is sleeping on the job. I guess Kevin knew that he wasn't in Kansas anymore, so I guess he figured it was time to let his "freak flag flow".

Anyway, some of my republican friends have an explanation for all of this:

"The reasons lawmakers gave Politico for the swim varied: Some said it was a
religious experience(the Bible says the Sea of Galilee is where Jesus walked on
water); others said they wanted to cool off; and still others admitted alcohol
may have guided their decision.Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., who did not swim that night, allegedly
scolded the group after learning about the evening, Politico reports, because it
was distracting from the mission of their trip. The FBI probe allegedly ended
after a few questions about what happened that night were answered by a Cantor
staffer. " [Source]

Fellows, Jesus walked on that water, I know that you republicans in Washington believe that you have divine powers, but I don't think you have mastered the walking on water part just yet.

I am going to surprise many of you and not pile on Todd Akin tonight after his Macaca moment. We all know by now the statements made by Mr. Akin regarding the rape of a woman. The thing is, what he is saying is nothing new for certain folks in the GOP, this is the mindset of the cavemen in suits crowd. Akin just got caught thinking out loud.

Now, of course, everyone from Mitt Romney to all the usual wingnut suspects are jumping ship on Akin. Even though Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan, co-sponsored and voted for a bill with the aforementioned Mr. Akin which required women to be "forcibly raped" before they can terminate the pregnancy brought on by their attacker. Yes, Paul Ryan was against abortion in any circumstance. Any. These two men were on the same page, so by condemning Mr. Akin is Mr. Romney also condemning his running mate? Mr. Romney would say no. That's the beauty of Etch A Sketch; it can go either way, and it's always moving.

Finally, if you happen to live in the Northwest United States and you are a member of the Negro race, --or any one of those groups that Aryan supremacist view as a less than human-- you might want to be careful.

"A young couple accused of killing four people in a multistate crime spree last fall have been indicted on federal racketeering charges alleging the rampage was part of a campaign to "purify" and "preserve" the white race, the U.S. Attorney for Oregon, said Friday.

A grand jury handed up the indictment Thursday against David "Joey" Pedersen, 32, and Holly Ann Grigsby, 25, prosecutor Amanda Marshall said in a news release.

"The indictment in this case alleges horrendous crimes were committed as part of defendants' white-supremacist campaign to kidnap and murder targets on the basis of race, color, religion and perceived 'degenerate' conduct," Marshall said.They are charged in the killing, kidnapping and robbery of four people last fall: Pedersen's father, David "Red" Pedersen, and stepmother, Leslie "DeeDee" Pedersen, on Sept. 26 in Everett, Wash.; Cody Myers, a 19-year-old from Oregon on Oct. 1; and Reginald Clark, 53, of Eureka, Calif., on Oct. 3.Clark was black and Grigsby allegedly told investigators that Myers, a Christian, was killed because his name sounded Jewish." (h/t to Greg for this story) [Source]

I swear it's tough being a young black man in America these days; if the racist don't get you, the po po or another black man will.

Explaining his no-exceptions policy on abortions, Akin was asked why he opposes abortion even when the pregnancy is the result of rape." [Source]

I don't think that Todd Akin has explained to us what he meant by that statement as yet, but he might as well save his breath. If I were the head of the Missouri republican party I would be begging Mr. Akin to drop out of the race as soon as possible. But who knows? Maybe his strange take on the subject of rape will not affect his standing with the voters in the Show- Me state. It probably won't among republicans, but what of the other independent minded people who actually think for themselves? We will see.

In case you haven't been paying attention, there was yet another horrific act committed by an extremist group here in America over the past week. This one took place down in Bayou country.

"NEW ORLEANS (AP) — At least some of the seven people arrested in a fatal shootout with Louisiana deputies have been linked to violent anarchists on the FBI's domestic terrorism watch lists, a sheriff said Saturday.

Detectives had been monitoring the group before Thursday's shootout in Laplace in which two deputies were killed and two more wounded, said DeSoto Parish Sheriff Rodney Arbuckle. His detectives and other law enforcement discovered the suspects were heavily armed adherents to an ideology known as the "sovereign citizens" movement.

The FBI has classified "sovereign citizens" as people who believe they are free from all duties of a U.S. citizen, like paying taxes. The FBI considers the group's members a danger for making threats to judges and law enforcement, using fake currency and impersonating police officers." [Source]

When the Department of Homeland Security issued a report in 2009 detailing concerns about growing right wing extremist movements in America, folks on the right --and their media arms like FOX NEWS-- were quick to jump to the defense of these nut cases, and they played down the report as just more partisanship from the Obama administration. Their outcry was loud and effective. So much so that Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano, was moved to apologize.

I really wish that she hadn't done that, because her department was right. These groups are on the rise, and they are becoming more violent and extreme with every passing day. Emboldened by like minded individuals on the Internet, conservative talk radio, and irresponsible and unhinged public figures; these types of groups have become uncomfortably close to the American main stream. They hate the government.(Sounds familiar?)They hate the fact that America is getting browner, and they hate that a man with a Muslin sounding name can lead the country that they grew up in.

"Sovereign citizens are a loosely organized movement founded in the 1970s and more fully developed in the 1980s, according to the Anti-Defamation League website. Sovereign citizens believe that all levels of government have no jurisdiction over them and resist — sometimes with violence — authority including police, the website said.

They also like to use what is dubbed "paper terrorism." It involves using frivolous lawsuits and fake documents and of using genuine documents such as IRS forms to intimidate, harass and coerce public officials, law enforcement officers and private citizens."

Saturday, August 18, 2012

I don't know much about Touré other than he wrote a few books back in the day, he is a part of the chattering class on cable television, and he is always beefing with folks on twitter. That's it.

I know a little more about him now because my man has been in the news of late--and is in some hot water-- for speaking honestly about how Stiff Romney's "angry black man" jabs at Obama made him feel:

“That really bothered me. You notice he said anger twice. He’s really trying to use racial coding and access some really deep stereotypes about the angry black man. This is part of the playbook against Obama, the ‘otherization,’ he’s not like us.

I know it’s a heavy thing, I don’t say it lightly, but this is ‘niggerization.’ You are not one of us, you are like the scary black man who we’ve been trained to fear.”

Of course, as is to be expected, the outrage from the right-and the majority population in general- was swift:

"Why, precisely, did this comment constitute “niggerization,” and what did that vile word mean? Why was Touré invoking one of the most egregious slurs ever to enter the language? .....

Touré didn’t just say that – he said that Romney was “using the playbook Republicans have been using for decades now.” In other words, Republicans have been involved in so-called “niggerization” for decades. This is disgusting. It’s a lie, and what’s more, it waters down racism to the point where anything qualifies – and to the point that real racism isn’t taken seriously anymore. According to Touré, it’s racist to suggest that Obama is the “food stamp president,” even if he’s elevated food stamp usage to record levels; it’s racist to call him angry; but it’s not racist for Joe Biden to suggest that freeing Wall Street will put black people “back in chains.”

Only MSNBC would put a fool like Touré on the air every night. And only the racially extreme left would consider Touré an eloquent spokesperson for their perverse views." [Source]

I need a break. First, Touré doesn't speak for me, but he certainly has a right to speak his mind, just as the Rush and the clowns over at FOX NEWS do.
And where is the outrage when Rush -and people like him- are using racial code words and making racial jokes at the president's expense? Where is the outrage when one of their number one financial backers and spokesperson for the party, questions the very legitimacy of the person holding the office of president? *crickets*

Anyway, these folks are doing their best Captain Renault impression over Touré speaking his mind, while they no doubt use it among themselves in private. The Romney campaign even wanted to speak to the heads of MSNBC about Toure's job. Seriously?

Anyway, sadly, as you Negroes tend to do in America when you piss off the man; Touré is walking back his comments and is apologizing to America for honestly saying how he felt.

"MSNBC commentator Touré apologized Friday for using the N word during a political discussion on the cable news channel.

"I know it's a heavy thing," he said. "I don't say it lightly, but this is n----rization."

The following day, Touré apologized for using the controversial word: "On yesterday's show, in discussion about the presidential race, I used a word to make a point. In retrospect, I muddied the discussion by using the N word. I could've made my point without that word. I shouldn't have used it, and for that I'm sorry."

Friday, August 17, 2012

The republicans are hoping that lightening strikes twice when it comes to the general elections here in America. Remember the "Swift Boating" of John Kerry? Well, here we go again.

I guess we could call this one the special opsing of Barak Obama.

"The leader of a group of politically active special operations veterans who oppose President Barack Obama said Friday that the level of credit the president is claiming for the raid that killed Osama bin Laden is “pretty gross.”“I absolutely believe that the president, as should any president who presided over this type of operation, should get some credit,” said Scott Taylor, a former Navy SEAL, speaking on CNN’s “Starting Point.” “But to the level of credit they have taken, it’s pretty gross.”

Taylor is the president of a group, called the Special Operations OPSEC Education Fund, Inc., that is reportedly composed of former Navy SEALS and other special operations veterans. They recently produced a 22-minute video that charges, “Mr. President, you did not kill Osama bin Laden. America did.”

Soledad O’Brien, the host of “Starting Point,” asked why the group, in their video, had edited out a segment of a speech in which Obama praised the men who carried out the bin Laden operation.

“Because of course the personal credit taken certainly overshadows that, doesn’t it?” Taylor said on CNN. “So does the year-anniversary commercials, so does the high-level access to Hollywood producers, giving them [information on a] want-to-know basis rather than need-to-know basis, which is what’s supposed to happen with classified material. Again, this group is very serious, we’re very motivated, we’re the subject matter experts. It affects us the most and we’re worried about future operations being hindered and our brothers and sisters being put in harm’s way unnecessarily because of politicians.”

The group, which says it is nonprofit and nonpartisan, despite a number of its members having close ties to the Republican Party, has especially harsh words for the Obama administration on the subject of national security leaks." [Source]

Nice try wingnut. But I think we all know what's going on here.

Here are a few interesting words from one of these right wingnuts:

“I have to admit that I’m a Birther,” said SOS founder Larry Bailey, a retired 27-year veteran of the Navy SEALs, in an interview. “If there were a jury of 12 good men and women and the evidence were placed before them, there would be absolutely no question Barack Obama was not born where he said he was and is not who he says he is.” After nattering on about how some bizarre conspiracy theory regarding who Obama’s “real father” is, he throws in this craziness, “Barack Obama’s a born red-diaper baby. He’s a socialist.” [Source]

Yes Larry, we suspected as much.

Folks, all you need to know is that this group is made of former tea party types, and they are being funded by the usual GOP suspects.

It's a nice try, let's just see if the American people fall for this political three-card monte, again.

Finally, while a bunch unhinged former military dudes cry about not getting enough credit for killing Osama bin Laden, the republican candidate for president still refuses to release his tax returns. (BTW Mitt, that was really weak of you to put your wife out there to fight your tax battles for you.)
And then there is his vice presidential running mate who just might have...well here, read for yourself:

"Ever since the Richmonder blog posted a story last weekend pointing to suspicious-looking stock trades made by Paul Ryan on September 18, 2008 – the day that Ben Bernanke and Hank Paulson met with Congressional leaders to warn of an economic collapse and the need for a giant bailout – the press has been at sixes and sevens. Was it insider trading? Wasn't it? First the story circulated rapidly. Then, when the Romney/Ryan campaign quickly issued denials, some journalists, most notably Benjy Sarlin of Talking Points Memo , leapt to “debunk” the story. Matt Yglesias of Slate , who first credited the story, apologized and backed off.

Earlier this week, I posted an article challenging the denials made by the Romney/Ryan campaign.

John Carney, a senior editor at CNBC.com has responded to my post on Paul Ryan’s insider stock trades in September, 2008. Unlike the Romney campaign, he does not try to claim that Congressman Ryan did not have time to do the trades before markets closed at 4 PM. (There is, of course, the possibility that Ryan traded after hours; that was no part of my story.) Nor does he take refuge in the pathetic argument that some anonymous trustee did it. His objection is that Congressman Ryan’s trading that day followed a larger pattern evident in other transactions that year." [More]

I am not sure I like this Ryan fellow. First he lies about getting stimulus dollars for his district, and now this.

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